Opposition BJP in Uttarakhand on Thursday demanded an apology from state Congress President Kishor Upadhyay for casting doubts on Indian Army’s surgical strikes on terror launch pads in the PoK.

“The PCC president owes an apology to the whole nation for putting the army’s action against terrorist camps across LoC under the ambit of doubt. How can he question the veracity of an action carried out by our troops?” BJP President and Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly Ajay Bhatt told reporters in Dehradun.

Demanding an apology from Upadhyay for his remarks, Bhatt said if he fails to tender an apology immediately Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Vice President Rahul Gandhi should initiate action against him. Casting doubts on the veracity of the army’s action, Upadhyay had recently termed it as an “election stunt” of Modi government and asked for evidence to substantiate claims about the surgical strikes.

Reacting sharply to Upadhyay’s remarks, BJP’s youth wing had blackened his posters in Dehradun on Wednesday. Giving details of several programmes worked out by the party at its state executive meeting in Roorkee, Bhatt said the party will conduct a state-wide campaign from October 11 to honour ex-armymen and their kin in recognition of the sacrifices they make to keep the borders safe.

With a large number of people from Uttarakhand in the armed forces, this is being seen as the party’s move to garner their votes. The party will also conduct another drive simultaneously during which party workers will go to the countryside and ask the state government to give an account of the funds received from the Centre for development and their utilisation, Bhatt said.

“This is meant to counter the state government’s repeated claims about step-motherly treatment of the Congress-ruled state at the hands of the Centre,” the BJP leader said. Bhatt also announced that the party will launch a Parivartan yatra in Uttarakhand on its statehood day anniversary on November 9 to whip up public opinion against Harish Rawat government ahead of 2017 assembly elections.